kmartind

The HT series can be seen as the value versions of the TX line with certain features left out. The most likely potential "re-badge" candidate is the TX-NR626

That would make sense if so, because I remember glancing at the 626 specs when they were announced and thinking "hm, that sure sounds like a downgrade from my TX-NR616 rather than an upgrade, even though it's newer" and so I ignored that model. The 616 is still a very good receiver for the money IMHO. I had been looking at the higher end models at the time but that one really seemed to be the sweet spot for good value so I saved some money for other things.

I have never seen any sign of HDMI issues or other supposedly common problems on any of my Onkyo gear (I have bought FOUR of their receivers and an amp or two thus far over the years, the most recent being the TX-NR616). Then again, I tend to run my equipment on very clean conditioned/surge-suppressed power, or even behind a double-conversion true sine-wave UPS in the case of the front projector. I also use an open-front, open-back rack.

I did have one problem with my first Onkyo AV receiver from way back in I think 2001-2002 timeframe (a TX-DS797) which turned out to have a flaky RAM chip after a few years of heavy use. Unfortunately it was surface-mounted so not an easy fix but I repaired it myself and that old receiver still worked fine last time I powered it up. It never had any other problems but that one is woefully outdated now so doesn't get much use. It's still fine for audio though.

earpndoll

We have a Onkyo 7.1 HT-R 560 which we love and it soundz AWESOME!!! This system should sound even better than ours!!!! If it actually came with the 7 speakers and two subz that is!!!!!!!!!!! So whats up w/the no speakers included anyhow???

kmartind

lyman123 wrote:both my receivers croaked their HDMI boards in a couple of years.

Do you happen to keep it in a fully enclosed cabinet without adequate ventilation or have ancient house/building wiring by any chance?
Too much heat, or power/grounding/surge problems will kill receivers quicker than anything. You also need to blow the dust out of equipment every so often (people usually neglect that with laptops and then act all surprised when they start running really hot in a year or so after a little "carpet" of lint/dust/hair has formed inside the laptop between the fan and heat sink, blocking most of the airflow).

onkyousa

lyman123 wrote:I will NEVER buy an Onkyo receiver again. Like all the rest, I was seduced by the features v. price, but both my receivers croaked their HDMI boards in a couple of years.

Got a Yamaha Aventage and love it. Built like a tank, has great features and a cool Android app for controlling it from a table from across the room. UPNP/DLNA also.

We apologize for the inconvenience that you have experience with your receiver. We can provide assistance in getting your receiver repaired by contacting us at askOnkyo@us.onkyo.com or call our 24 hour support at 1800-229-1687

onkyousa

In regards to this receiver, inputs using either RCA COMPOSITE or COMPONENT VIDEO cables into the receiver and also using a HDMI cable out to your TV/ Projector will require the source device's (cable box, DVD player, game console, etc) video output resolution to be reconfigured to 480i (not 480p or higher) for optimal performance. The receiver will upscale and/or output via HDMI if the source device is inputting its video resolution signal at ONLY 480i:

mikeweyer

Onkyo hits their price point by using substandard parts. I bought their top of the line two thousand dollar receiver, 3 years later it is dead, and no help to be had from Onkyo. Now I own a Denon and I love it. A cheap price receiver is no deal if you have to replace it.

leolson

onkyousa wrote:In regards to this receiver, inputs using either RCA COMPOSITE or COMPONENT VIDEO cables into the receiver and also using a HDMI cable out to your TV/ Projector will require the source device's (cable box, DVD player, game console, etc) video output resolution to be reconfigured to 480i (not 480p or higher) for optimal performance. The receiver will upscale and/or output via HDMI if the source device is inputting its video resolution signal at ONLY 480i:

This is a very important little detail and what has been scaring me away from the entire Onkyo 2013 line. My old HT-RC260 could upscale my Wii's RGB 480p signal through HDMI to my big screen just fine and as my wife and daughter still love the Wii, that is a big negative.

I am not sure if I want to run the extra RGB cable and deal with source switching on the TV or get an older Onkyo model to replace my much loved HT-RC260 which now has a something failing in its MPU board (although the HDMI is still working perfectly unlike what most people complain about).

rbilsbor

Sardinicus wrote:Not to make your decision harder, but, Airplay aside, this is a much better receiver and a much better deal than the Sony.

The giveaway is the power specs; Sony's limitation of provided specs to a 1KHz sine wave at 0.9% distortion implies poor-quality integrated amplification, while the Onkyo has discrete amplifiers and solid specifications to back up its power claims.

The other killer feature here that the Sony lacks is the Audessey room equalization which optimizes the sound for your room and speakers.

With built-in WiFi you should be able to stream music from any device on your network at greater quality than either Bluetooth or Airplay. I am not 100% sure how to set this up with an iPad but I'm sure someone else can help out there.

I doubt anyone can hear the difference between .8% and .9% THD, correct?

And Sony does ship a room mic for tuning to your space:

Advanced Digital Cinema Auto Calibration - Quick Speaker Set UpEnsure you get the best sound experience from your A/V receiver and speakers. This advanced version offers auto phase matching. Simply place the included microphone where you will be seated and settings are automatically optimized based on the distance, delays and placement of your speakers.

I'm open to getting the Onkyo and just using their (fairly poorly reviewed) mobile apps for music streaming, at least it's Wi-Fi and not Bluetooth -- but I have a hard time convincing myself given 3/4 comments here seem to be about HDMI unreliability! I wonder if the new 2013 models have different/better HDMI boards...

In general if this is a much higher quality unit, that would be good to know. I have an old Onkyo that has faired fine for the last 5 years, and have never used a Sony.

onkyousa

neploxo wrote:Agreed completely. After my experience with their failing HDMI boards and refusal to honor their warranty or provide ANY kind of customer support, I will never purchase another Onkyo product. Too bad, because the sound was amazing.

In regards to your issue- it would possibly be more effective to contact our Product Support Dept. for further assistance with this specific issue via our phone number and hours of operation below. We would like to speak with you and work to troubleshoot and resolve your issue, with you having access to your unit, as prompt as possible. Please contact our Product Support Dept for further assistance with this specific issue via our phone number and hours of operation (Monday- Sunday 24 hours a day: (800) 229-1687; option #3 PRODUCT SUPPORT). We would like to speak with you and work to troubleshoot and resolve your issue as prompt as possible.

onkyousa

campbeln wrote:Agree with the HDMI board issues! I will stay very far away from Onkyo from now on as while the sound is awesome, I'd like an A *AND* V receiver, thank you very much.

As to up-scaling... I bought an 875 some years back (still limping along with it) specifically because it has/had a high-end up-scaling chip (HQV Reon-VX). I did all my research, I was dealing with PAL and NTCS video (hence the primary concern) and after all of that, I have NEVER USED IT! (And having the damned thing enabled fries your HDMI card much quicker)

I use an XBMC, and all the SD content is natively up-scaled on it. It's being decoded from compressed formats, so why on earth would I pipe it out over an HDMI connection in 480p or 540p just to have another processor upscale it?

So... in my experience... up-scaling is a crutch tech, and if you're running stuff off a VCR, might be useful. Else get a BluRay player with a good up-scaler for those DVDs and be done with it.

EDIT - Also, my Logitech has never played nice with my 875's audio levels... most aggravating thing ever to have to fight to get the volume to change. I would hope Onkyo has fixed this, but who knows...

If you are still experiencing the same issue , Please contact our Product Support Dept for further assistance with this specific issue via our phone number and hours of operation (Monday- Sunday 24 hours a day: (800) 229-1687; option #3 PRODUCT SUPPORT). We would like to speak with you and work to troubleshoot and resolve your issue as prompt as possible.

onkyousa

crimsonkeel wrote:because its part of a HOmetheatre kit. http://us.onkyo.com/Products/model.php?m=HT-S5100&class=Systems&source=prodClass the whole set up is listed at 600 dollars
so basically Woot is trying to sell a msrp 600 dollar receiver minus all the speakers and claiming its giving us a good deal.

[MOD: This is a Woot Exclusive. See my post below for the differences.]

The receiver that you are referring to is the HT-R560 which is part of the HT-S5100 Package. The HT-RC560 is a new 2013 Onkyo stand alone receiver.

onkyousa

rayjen02 wrote:I had the 7.1 version of this. Started having problems with the sound not working every once in a while. I thought support was great, as they couldn't figure out the problem over a 1 hour call, so they'd "call me back as soon as they set up a system in the lab." They did and had a solution for me! Happened again the next day, tried the solution again, presto! 6 months later, nothing worked, and I'm out of warranty. Lots of people had the same problem, and it seems to have stemmed from substandard microchips on the HDMI card. 2 years old, and dead. Now I'm using my 1986 Pioneer receiver from my other TV. I have been told by sound gurus to avoid new ONKYO receivers, and get Pioneer, Yamaha, or very high end Sony for the money.

We apologize for any inconvenience that you have experienced. If you are still experiencing the same issue , Please contact our Product Support Dept for further assistance with this specific issue via our phone number and hours of operation (Monday- Sunday 24 hours a day: (800) 229-1687; option #3 PRODUCT SUPPORT). We would like to speak with you and work to troubleshoot and resolve your issue as prompt as possible.

onkyousa

leolson wrote:This is a very important little detail and what has been scaring me away from the entire Onkyo 2013 line. My old HT-RC260 could upscale my Wii's RGB 480p signal through HDMI to my big screen just fine and as my wife and daughter still love the Wii, that is a big negative.

I am not sure if I want to run the extra RGB cable and deal with source switching on the TV or get an older Onkyo model to replace my much loved HT-RC260 which now has a something failing in its MPU board (although the HDMI is still working perfectly unlike what most people complain about).

This feature is only on such 2013 models as the TX-NR525 (HT-RC 550), 626 and the HT-R560 receivers.

miamiman5

blampley wrote:I don't have this exact model but one from a couple years back and Onkyo is one of the few receivers that has multi zone with an amp. Add this to the android app and you have the perfect soultion to music on the deck. I use the app exclusively to control the receiver. As far as hdmi issues I have not seen a failure but every few months I do have to cycle power to get the video back.

If you pay taxes, if it's your destiny to die, the hdmi board will fail. In your case, you're experiencing the prelude.

klausboop

I bought an Onkyo TX-NR809 (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00505F01E) a couple of months ago and LOVE it. The TX-NR809 sounds *significantly* better with my existing equipment than the former flagship Harmon Kardon receiver it replaced. With that said, today's Woot has most of the features I was shopping for and a great price to boot. I'd be jumping on this if I hadn't just bought a receiver.

One thing that I think made a huge difference for me is the Audyssey room correction. Today's Woot receiver has Audyssey MultEQ; here's a good link that explains the difference between the types of Audyssey's room correction system: http://www.audyssey.com/audio-technology/multeq; I have the next step up from that but I note that both of them let you take measurements at multiple positions, which I think makes a lot of sense.

Sardinicus

Looking into this a bit more, I may have misjudged the Sony based upon the limited specs on the Amazon page.

If you believe the Crutchfield page for the Sony ( http://www.crutchfield.com/S-L9jsVTAhtLJ/p_158STDN840/Sony-STR-DN840.html#details-tab ) the specs for the two units are, indeed, similar. (The most meaningful basis for comparison is the full range stereo output into 6 Ohms which is 95W for both units at 0.07% and 0.09% THD for the Onkyo and Sony, respectively -- and I agree that this is not a meaningful difference.)

And Sony does ship a room mic for tuning to your space:

Advanced Digital Cinema Auto Calibration - Quick Speaker Set UpEnsure you get the best sound experience from your A/V receiver and speakers. This advanced version offers auto phase matching. Simply place the included microphone where you will be seated and settings are automatically optimized based on the distance, delays and placement of your speakers.

Sony has been behind the competition in this area; from the description of this function it appears to deal with delays and phase only as opposed to a frequency EQ. If you are happy with your speakers and room response it may not be a big deal for you.

I'm open to getting the Onkyo and just using their (fairly poorly reviewed) mobile apps for music streaming, at least it's Wi-Fi and not Bluetooth -- but I have a hard time convincing myself given 3/4 comments here seem to be about HDMI unreliability! I wonder if the new 2013 models have different/better HDMI boards...

It's worth noting that one of the 4 Amazon reviews for the Sony also mentions HDMI board problems. Perhaps the Onkyo rep who seems to be lurking around can comment if this unit has improvements in this area.

In general if this is a much higher quality unit, that would be good to know. I have an old Onkyo that has faired fine for the last 5 years, and have never used a Sony.

Again I will take back what I said about this being "much" better. I will admit to an anti-Sony bias, but I think if the auto-setup and eq is important to you the Audessey system in the Onkyo is considered state of the art; if this is not an issue for you I would feel comfortable with whichever one has the inputs, decoders, and feature set you want.

glenasmith

onkyousa wrote:If you are still experiencing the same issue , Please contact our Product Support Dept for further assistance with this specific issue via our phone number and hours of operation (Monday- Sunday 24 hours a day: (800) 229-1687; option #3 PRODUCT SUPPORT). We would like to speak with you and work to troubleshoot and resolve your issue as prompt as possible.

With all due respect (and props to "you" for getting on the board to post) referring people to a tech support line is not likely to help matters. Enough people have posted here about the problem, and specifically stated that they got no joy from tech support to ward me off from your product.

Now if "you" can post information that shows Onkyo is aware of the previous problems, and has taken specific steps to fix those problems (and list them as best as you can), you might convince some people to take a chance.

GAH! Is it really that hard to understand?
Once critical mass of complaints has been reached -
1) Acknowledge it.
2) Apologize unconditionally. (If the word "IF" is in your apology, it isn't an apology)
3) State how you are going to attempt to make whole your suffering customers. (A free case - NOT "Don't hold your phone this way" You hear me Mr Red Delicious?)
4) State how you are going to fix the problem going forward.

miamiman5

TAGyurit wrote:Agreed here, too! I'm on my 4th HDMI Board with my TX-NR807. Blows for no reason... I've given up on having it fixed, and have now resorted to an external $13 4-port HDMI Switch. WOOT should have a sale on spare boards; they'd make a ton of money! I'll have to have some proof from Onkyo that they have fixed the problem before I'd buy another one of their Receivers.

onkyousa

clintre wrote:My problem is not just with how bad the quality of Onkyo has been of late, it is just how poor they have handled it from a customer service angle.

Occasionally a bad batch or even bad product is going to get out. However how they treated people with the problems was bothered me way more. My dad had one and was with out a working system for 3 months.

They lost me as a customer.

We apologize for the problems that you have experienced in the past with support. Please contact us at (800) 229-1687 Monday- Friday 9am-8pm EST and weekends 10am- 4pm EST for further assistance; as we would also like to review your previous correspondence with our Product Support department to determine what steps were exhausted so far as well. Thank you for your patience and consideration.

leolson

onkyousa wrote:This feature is only on the TX-NR525, 626 and the HT-R560 not the complete 2013 line

I got that detail from the 2013 Onkyo Comparison Data chart on Amazon which lists the TX-NR525, 626, and 727 as all not supporting Analog to HDMI Video Upconversion and from the Onkyo site which says "from 480i" on all 3. So, if those sites are wrong they should be updated. I was not including the 828 and 929 as they are still "Coming Soon", not to mention over my budget.

It just makes no sense that Onkyo has dropped a useful feature on their mid range receivers in place of 4K upconversion which is essentially useless to most people that would be looking for a mid range receiver. Anyone that is really looking for 4K is probably going to get a THX certified receiver for $1000+.

miamiman5

knockem wrote:So the question I have is should I buy it. I currently do not have a receiver system and I am looking to get one. My main goal is to be able to connect a projector up to it so I can watch a large screen version of a show or play a game on the Xbox 360. The projector does not have any speakers to it so I would want to go from my Xbox to the receiver with HDMI then the video needs to go out via HDMI to the projector. The sound would then come from the receiver. I am assuming this described setup will work with this? I would also take any suggestions on speakers I can get for this unit as well.

Onkyo sells good affordable speaker systems, but having been a lifelong Onkyo lover, I now would NOT RECOMMEND an Onkyo receiver with hdmi. I got burned too many times and virtually everyone I know to whom I recommended an onkyo has gotten burned too. The hdmi board will fail and customer service is horrendous.

leolson

I had checked the Onkyo website earlier for any mention of the the HT-RC560 and there was none. But now, after I got back from lunch, I looked again and there it is. You can now use it in their comparison tool and it looks almost identical to the TX-NR626 except for a couple of small changes in the audio hardware. Here is the link:
http://us.onkyo.com/Products/model.php?m=HT-RC560&class=Receiver

bobosims

Comparing the two models on the Onkyo website (HT-RC560 and the TX-NR626 that others have pointed out is the model from which this one was rebadged), they're effectively identical when you switch between windows showing the same tabs for each model. The only differences are the labelling on the faceplate, the presence of a "three stage inverted Darlington circuit" on the center channel, and a usb port being moved from the front to the back. The woot version also doesn't bear certification for 4 ohm speakers (doesn't mean it won't work fine with them, but it hasn't been put through that certification process at the factory). As an engineer, these differences are only slighltly meaningful to me, whereas they wouldn't be meaningful at all to the average home user. All other specs, features, etc... are identical.

The "list price" shown on this Woot exclusive (How does that work exactly? If this is a woot exclusive, when was it ever offered at list price? Seems like a Truth In Advertising issue to me) matches the listed Mothership price for the TX-NR626. That said, the Woot price comes in a couple hundred bucks cheaper, and the specs indicate that regardless of what model number this thing goes under, it's a pretty decent deal.

As to the customer service issues, well... here's hoping that they're doing more than "taking them very seriously".

bloodgain

I'm sad to hear all the negative feedback about Onkyo receivers. I would hope they have fixed their failing HDMI board issue by now, and I never heard these complaints when I was AVR shopping a few years ago.

I have a fantastic set of Onkyo speakers (http://www.amazon.com/Onkyo-SKS-HT540-Channel-Theater-Speaker/dp/B000GU78Z4). I'm sure they don't compare to $1K-each pillars, but they look nice, produce crisp sound, and can handle the volume louder than I'd ever run it. I'll eventually replace them with high end and move them to another room, but I'm in no hurry.

I always heard the Onkyo AVRs were good, on par with Denon, so I hope the HDMI thing was just a bad run of boards or a bad choice they've since corrected. I got a deal on a Yamaha AVR, which is great, so I'm probably a life-long member of that club. Onkyo has long been a good name in the AV business, though.

kcmark

Looking at upgrading our pre-HDTV, Denon AVR-3200 receiver to an AV receiver that can handle both component and HDMI.

Will this 'down-convert' HDMI 1080p sources and output them in 1080i over the component output?

We were early HDTV adopters and have a great 54" rear projection Toshiba HDTV that only has component inputs. I currently have a 6x2 component video matrix in a closet which runs our Tivo, HTPC, Blu-ray, WDTV and DVD player to the Toshiba and another HDTV in another room. Unfortunately the video matrix only processes stereo sound.

If I can hook up the Tivo, Blu-ray, and WDTV via HDMI to the receiver and still output video to the Toshiba HDTVs in 1080i, I just might bite. If this won't cut it, anyone have suggestions for other (perhaps earlier) models that would work? Our Denon is rock solid but just couldn't keep up with changes in AV technology.

narquespamley

SkwerlKC wrote:If you are planning to buy this for the second zone feature, be warned that only crappy RCA pin analog sources will be sent out through the second zone. Bummer!

I have a high-end Denon receiver that behaves similarly. Audio from HDMI sources is not sent to zone 2. While this can be overcome by using a secondary audio feed via optical digital or coax digital, to make matters worse the source has to be changed to stereo (vs. Dolby Digital) to be fed through, thus we're always having to go into DVD player settings depending on whether we're watching a movie in zone 1 or zone 2.

narquespamley

Consensus on the net is that the HDMI card issue relates to poor quality capacitors. So, Onkyo rep, please confirm whether you have addressed the fundamental sourcing issue and are using capacitors with a sufficient thermal rating. Simple question. Answer it publicly.

tuckerpatterson

Just like everyone else I also had my HDMI board fry and Onkyo did not want to help when I called them. I have a TX-708. I was just living with the substandard reciever until DirecTv offer to repair it or replace it for me.
If you want GREAT! service call do business with DirecTv, if you want poor quality and poor service buy Onkyo.
(To be fair the reciever does have great sound. I just lost faith that Onkyo will stand by their product.)

onkyousa

glenasmith wrote:With all due respect (and props to "you" for getting on the board to post) referring people to a tech support line is not likely to help matters. Enough people have posted here about the problem, and specifically stated that they got no joy from tech support to ward me off from your product.

Now if "you" can post information that shows Onkyo is aware of the previous problems, and has taken specific steps to fix those problems (and list them as best as you can), you might convince some people to take a chance.

GAH! Is it really that hard to understand?
Once critical mass of complaints has been reached -
1) Acknowledge it.
2) Apologize unconditionally. (If the word "IF" is in your apology, it isn't an apology)
3) State how you are going to attempt to make whole your suffering customers. (A free case - NOT "Don't hold your phone this way" You hear me Mr Red Delicious?)
4) State how you are going to fix the problem going forward.

Hello glenasmith;

This is Onkyo USA and we would like to take this opportunity to address your posting. We would also like to invite you to our Onkyo USA Support forum to answer the 4 bulletins you have posted (forums@onkyousa.com). We have been proactively assisting our various customers with their specific reported issues via our Product Support and Parts & Services departments to further evaluate and service our valuable customer's units.

We have also readily provided information on known issues via the PRESS RELEASE section of the ONKYO USA webpage: http://www.onkyousa.com/Info/pressreleases.php. Upon review of our support forum; we have addressed and serviced many customer issues promptly and we actively following up. You can also review our Facebook webpage as well (www.facebook.com/onkyousa) to review the numerous consumers like yourself initially displeased with their issue and our resilient efforts to resolve their issues swiftly.

We also have a 24 hour Product Support department who will help to resolve your issue and provide service tickets to have your issue further evaluated as required. As this thread was issued for new customers of the HT-RC 560, how can we be of assistance to you today with your current Onkyo receiver? We would again love the opportunity to further provide you with the most accurate information and assistance.

Thank you again for your comments; on behalf of Onkyo USA Product Support- we would like to use this opportunity to see how can we further assist the following customers who are NOT HT-RC 560 (not HT-R560)customers who would like to be assisted.

tuckerpatterson

This is Onkyo USA and we would like to take this opportunity to address your posting. We would also like to invite you to our Onkyo USA Support forum to answer the 4 bulletins you have posted (forums@onkyousa.com). We have been proactively assisting our various customers with their specific reported issues via our Product Support and Parts & Services departments to further evaluate and service our valuable customer's units.

We have also readily provided information on known issues via the PRESS RELEASE section of the ONKYO USA webpage: http://www.onkyousa.com/Info/pressreleases.php. Upon review of our support forum; we have addressed and serviced many customer issues promptly and we actively following up. You can also review our Facebook webpage as well (www.facebook.com/onkyousa) to review the numerous consumers like yourself initially displeased with their issue and our resilient efforts to resolve their issues swiftly.

We also have a 24 hour Product Support department who will help to resolve your issue and provide service tickets to have your issue further evaluated as required. As this thread was issued for new customers of the HT-RC 560, how can we be of assistance to you today with your current Onkyo receiver? We would again love the opportunity to further provide you with the most accurate information and assistance.

Thank you again for your comments; on behalf of Onkyo USA Product Support- we would like to use this opportunity to see how can we further assist the following customers who are NOT HT-RC 560 (not HT-R560)customers who would like to be assisted.

I read the forum website you suggested we visit. It says nothing about the HDMI issues that seem to be effecting a significant number of people.
1.So I am asking you, is Onkyo aware that many people are having problems with HDMI?
2.If so, what are you doing to fix it for them?
3.And does this problem continue with newer models?

sh90706

neploxo wrote:Agreed completely. After my experience with their failing HDMI boards and refusal to honor their warranty or provide ANY kind of customer support, I will never purchase another Onkyo product. Too bad, because the sound was amazing.

Same here. Had a great Onkyo 7.1 receiver, they replaced one hdmi board after 18 months, then now, another 12 months later that one blew, now I have a paperweight.

kmartind

"Did not want to help" is very vague and uninformative. Was it still under warranty? If so, they should provide you with information on where to take it or send it for repair. If not, it would be great if they went the extra mile and helped people out by fixing it anyway, but they're really under no obligation whatsoever to do that. That's what keeps extended warranty outfits like Squaretrade in business after all.

That having been said, if I were Onkyo I would set up a large centralized repair facility optimized for quick turn-around, much like most PC manufacturers have. As it stands, a lot of Onkyo warranty repairs are done at small local/independent stereo repair shops that don't have the manpower to churn out a lot of repairs quickly. I think that ends up reflecting poorly on Onkyo even though they don't really have direct control over those shops.

That's fairly common in the appliance business (similar to Hoover using local repair shops to fix busted vacuums), but as AV receivers have become more complex, and stereo repair shops have become less and less common, it seems like things need to change at this point.

Overall I've been really satisfied with their product features, sound quality, prices, and even product quality/reliability in my own experience over the past ~12+ years, but of course I'm very careful with electronics, and your mileage may vary.

onkyousa

tuckerpatterson wrote:Just like everyone else I also had my HDMI board fry and Onkyo did not want to help when I called them. I have a TX-708. I was just living with the substandard reciever until DirecTv offer to repair it or replace it for me.
If you want GREAT! service call do business with DirecTv, if you want poor quality and poor service buy Onkyo.
(To be fair the reciever does have great sound. I just lost faith that Onkyo will stand by their product.)

Hello tuckerpatterson;

We would like to review your issue and would like to further look into your service ticket. Please reply back to the following email addresses (onkyoadmin@us.onkyo.com or askOnkyo@us.onkyo.com) with the following credentials:

- Serial number of receiver (found on the rear chassis of the unit- usually 16 digits or 10 digits if a refurbished unit).

- Copy of sales receipt/ invoice showing the dealer and date of purchase from any authorized Onkyo dealer.

- Previous service ticket/ customer ID numbers provided.

This information will be presented to the Parts & Services department for further review and a representative will promptly contact you to advise you on your available options as well to result in a satisfied customer experience with Onkyo USA.

Have you also viewed on support forum (forums@onkyousa.com)? As we have assisted many customers with your model receiver with various issues- as this displays our diligent efforts to resolve our customer issues and concerns.

We at Onkyo USA thank you again for your posting and for the opportunity to further assist you.

narquespamley

This is Onkyo USA and we would like to take this opportunity to address your posting. We would also like to invite you to our Onkyo USA Support forum to answer the 4 bulletins you have posted (forums@onkyousa.com). We have been proactively assisting blah blah blah.

For the record, virtually all the notifications on the press releases page are firmware updates. There is one issue involving a selective recall, and it is not related to the HDMI card. Significantly, it appears that Onkyo has that one narrowed down to a small range of serial numbers built over a specific period of time.

Question stands.

That said, this is what is probably going on:
1. Onkyo knows exactly what the design defect is (e.g. poorly rated capacitors), exactly when and where they were used, and exactly whether or not the design was ever changed
2. The issue was massive and endemic because of the widespread use of these capacitors
3. Onkyo doesn't want to spend a dime addressing the problem so they kept using their inventory of bad parts even after they knew there was a problem
4. They are deliberately saying nothing about what they know because to do so would unleash a torrent of liability for a massive number of broken receivers
5. It's impossible to confirm where the design has been fixed, if anywhere. Sometimes companies will blow out their inventories of sub-par inventory through secondary channels. Oh, this is one of them.

So we can bang on this rep all day but he's not to change the party line because he doesn't have the authority to do that. That decision authority is way above his level - most likely a VP given the consequent spend and consideration for brand equity.

Only Woot itself, given the amount of business it provides for Onkyo, has sufficient leverage. Who knows how they will act. As part of Amazon, that's going to have a lot to do with metrics. Is this materially affecting how the merchandise moves? Only Woot knows.

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